Sick Days
by Yanagi-sen
Summary: Flu season strikes...


Sick Days

By Yanagi-sen

WK fanfic

Usual disclaimers apply.  These characters were not mine last I checked… nope, still not mine.  But the plot belongs to me… such as it is.  Enjoy!

Warnings: mild angst (VERY mild), not much of anything else except a drunk Takatori (he definitely deserves his own warning)

"Brad… are you feeling okay?"  The man didn't look well at all, slumped at his desk in the office he had in their apartment, fortunately not his 'official' office on another level of Takatori's building.  The youngest member of Schwarz stood in the doorway, he had just sent Schuldich to bed; this one would be harder though.

"To be honest… not really."  The man answered with uncharacteristic candor, obviously feeling poorly enough that he wasn't even going to try to make light of it.

Nagi took that as invitation to come in and he walked around the desk to the man's side.  He felt the American's forehead.  "You have a fever."

"I know."  In addition, the man's face was pale and his hands were shaking a bit if you looked closely enough.

The young man uttered a frustrated sigh.  "Then why aren't you already in bed?"

"There are things that have to be done…"

"Doesn't Takatori have that big party this weekend… the one that you and Schu are supposed to attend?"

"Yes… and I need to make sure the security…"

"If you aren't well… you can't go."

"I need to send memos…"

"I'll do it… I do this stuff half the time anyways.  Go to bed."

"I really should…"

"If you have the same thing Schu does you're going to be vomiting and dizzy in an hour or so, maybe if you go to bed BEFORE that point you won't end up as miserable as he is right now."

"He's sick?"

"Yes… and so are you."

With a sigh… the man gave in.  "All right… but this has to be done today."

"I know, I know…"  Nagi shooed the man out and down the hall, waiting while he changed into sleeping clothes, then made sure Brad was comfortable.  He stepped back out into the hall and looked in on the other members of Schwarz.  The redhead looked absolutely miserable, clutching his blankets around him and shivering.  Nagi got out another blanket… and emptied the basin again.  The telepath appeared to be losing everything he had eaten for the last day.  He got some water for the man, hoping maybe that at least would stay down.  There wasn't much else he could do for him right now.

Farfarello was currently out of it.  He had a particularly bad night and was still heavily doped on his medication.  The meds would wear off sometime in the afternoon, maybe then the Irishman would have some stability for a while.  Dealing with a violent Farfarello was NOT something Nagi wanted to do alone.  There were still times when the pale man scared him.  Generally, Nagi didn't have to handle Farf on his own, and Brad and Schu preferred to leave him out of it if possible.  But now the youngest member of the group was suddenly thrust into the position of having to care for everyone.

The first thing he did, after making sure everyone was as comfortable as they could be for the time being, was call Takatori's office and inform their boss that Schwarz was unavailable for anything other than computer work for the next couple of days.  Luckily, the aide he got was familiar enough with them that he didn't question it when Nagi was the one who called.  Their reputation was enough that in general, Takatori's people didn't question them.  The man was polite enough to ask for a reason, no doubt because their boss would demand it.  Once the Japanese boy explained the reason for their absence was illness, the man was quite cordial and wished them to get well soon.  It was flu season after all, and these things had a tendency to go through the office and building at an amazing rate.  Fully a third of the staff had been in various stages of illness the week before; it had finally caught up with Schwarz.  Nagi was mildly surprised he wasn't sick himself.

That done, Nagi went about taking care of two sick men as well as the normal daily chores and whatever Brad had left unfinished in his office.

**

"How bad is it?"  Brad asked tiredly as Nagi checked the thermometer.

"39… Schu's is a little higher."  He refilled the man's water glass… anything else was out of the question right now… and even water was hard for them to keep down.  The young man sighed, recognizing the sound of retching from the other room.  "I better take care of that… do you need anything else?"

"Not for now… get some sleep yourself."

"I'll try."  Nagi knew sleep wasn't likely to happen for a while yet.  He took care of Schu's basin… again, and tried to coax the man into drinking some more water… sooner or later the fluids would stay down, and the redhead really needed them by now.  Then he checked on Farf again.  The Irishman was awake, but fairly calm, content to stay in his room and read.  The Japanese boy had brought him dinner several hours earlier, but this was the first chance he'd had to take care of the dishes.  After Farf assured him that he would be fine for the night, Nagi locked him in and then started to take care of the day's dishes.  

While their apartment was fairly spacious, by Japanese standards, the kitchen was cramped and they didn't have a dishwasher.  Additionally, Brad refused to allow any of Takatori's household servants to come in and take care of such things.  In general… a lot of the chores fell onto Nagi's shoulders.  It wasn't that he was being picked on for being the youngest… simply that Farf couldn't always be counted on to remember to do things, Brad was frequently too busy, and Schu was often out on assignments.  It was useless to complain, so the young man simply did what had to be done.

And there was more to do now, with Brad atypically ill, there was the day-to-day paperwork for the boy to tackle as well.  He finished cleaning the kitchen, and getting the trash ready for the next day's pickup.  Then he sat down at the American's desk and cleared up the rest of the security details he hadn't gotten to that afternoon.  A lot of planning went into these parties Takatori held.  Nagi was just as glad Brad generally handled the security issues.  Somehow the normal personnel weren't as impressed when the orders came from a fifteen year old… and a scrawny looking one at that.  Unless they thought the messages came from Brad, and that Nagi was merely the go-between, they had a tendency to dismiss them.  Thankfully all that had to be done that night was a few computer memos, which didn't require the American.

Nagi then filed the illness report with Esset, which was required whenever one of them was 'out of commission', as well as updating the team logs.  Their overseers like to 'keep track' of how things were going.  Schu said it was because they needed lives and had nothing better to do.  Nagi was inclined to agree… especially when it took so much of HIS time to write and maintain such daily records.  And the illness reports… it wasn't like the doctors gave a damn if one of them was sick.  It was just more electronic bureaucracy, annoying and tedious.

Yet again… he could hear the sound of someone getting sick and sighed.  It was going to be a long night…

**

He got up to check on Brad sometime after 3am.  Schu had started off sicker… but now he was sleeping and the American was the one requiring the attention.  Nagi thought that if the man could see himself like this… he'd be well and truly pissed.  He looked pathetic.  The boy couldn't remember a time when Brad had ever looked pathetic before.  But that was the only way to describe him right now.

Nagi pressed a cool cloth to the man's face.  He was pretty sure Brad's fever was climbing again.  The man was starting to shiver, even in his warmest pajamas and a couple blankets.  Worse… Brad hadn't even asked if he had gotten all the work done, a sure sign he was well and truly sick.

He found himself dozing off in the chair, only to be awakened as Brad rolled and shifted, trying to get comfortable.  He looked over and found the American watching him.

"Why don't you go to bed?"  Nagi just shrugged, he was needed here.  "I'll survive if you leave to get some sleep."

"But what if you need something?"

"I can't eat or drink anything right now… I doubt I'll want to for a long time… I don't foresee any reason to move for a while.  Get some sleep.  Schu will be awake and demanding soon enough."

Brad did have a point.  "All right… but I'm leaving the doors open."  He had left their bedroom doors open all day, so he could hear if they needed him.

"Fine."

Nagi headed for his room… but didn't quite make it before he heard someone else in distress.  He shook his head… now Farf had it too.

**

The young Japanese boy marveled at the human body's ability to purge itself… he wouldn't have thought they would have anything left to come back out.  But here he was, cleaning out basins again.  Yeah, it wasn't the most pleasant of jobs… but someone had to do it.  And the ones who were sick felt dizzy and got alarmingly green if they so much as tried to stand.  He had even found Farf crawling to the bathroom to avoid the vertigo.  The Irishman didn't feel pain… but he could certainly feel nausea.  Maybe Nagi SHOULDN'T have given him dinner the night before, it was coming back to haunt them now.

Schuldich had gone from shivering to whining.  And if no one was close enough for him to whine verbally, he did it mentally.  At least until Brad yelled at the redhead from the other bedroom.  Brad himself was just generally cranky.  He hated to be sick… hated it with a passion, and was blaming Schu for bringing it into the apartment since the telepath was the first to become ill.  Therefore, it must be Schuldich's fault.  Poor Nagi was trying to keep up with the three sick men, two of which were exceptionally demanding.

It was midmorning before the young man realized he hadn't even eaten breakfast.  He was in the middle of changing the American's sheets while the man was attending to needs in the bathroom.  Nagi knew Brad would feel better if he had clean bed linens and so was wrestling with the mattress and blankets.  He left the bed turned down for whenever the man managed to drag himself back, and went to the kitchen, hoping to maybe sneak in a quick bowl of miso shiro if nothing else.  Luck seemed to be with him for the moment as he managed to get not only the soup, but even some rice.

With renewed vigor, it's hard to work with a grumbling stomach after all, Nagi focused on whatever parts of Brad's normal work he could do.  He also had some minor computer work for Takatori as well.  Having assured himself that everyone was sleeping, or at least resting, he sat down at Brad's desk and eyed the pile of files and folders.  Opening the first one, he started to look over the accounting records of one of Takatori's subsidiaries, trying to find evidence of 'creative bookkeeping'.

He was saved from total boredom by the phone.  "Moshi moshi."

"Crawford-san?"

Uh oh… the boss.  "I'm sorry, Takatori-san; he cannot come to the phone."

"He's still sick."

"Yes, sir."  The man made an exasperated sound, but there was nothing NAGI could do about it.

"How about Schuldich?"

"He's unavailable as well."   Takatori growled.  Nagi bit his lip.  "Takatori-san, is there something I can do for you?"

Silence.  Then… "I need someone to go to a meeting with me."

"Your security…"

"I need someone from Schwarz."

Oh… this wasn't good.  This DEFINITELY wasn't good.  "Let me speak with Crawford-san, just a minute."  He hit the 'hold' button and headed for the American's room.  "Brad?"

"What?"

Still cranky.  "Takatori is on the phone."

"Didn't you tell him we weren't available?"  The man snapped.

"Yes, I did… but he needs someone to go to a meeting."

"How's Schu?"

"The same."

"Farf?"

"Sick now too."

"Then you have to go."

"ME?!"

"Yes you!  You're a member of Schwarz, act like it."

Oh yeah… very cranky.  "All… all right."  He turned to go, feeling a little hurt.

"Nagi…"

"Yeah?"

"Don't forget to take a gun."

Nagi nodded and went back to the office.  "Takatori-san?"

"About time."

"Sorry… Brad says I will accompany you."  

More silence.  Then the man laughed.  "Why not… be in my office in 30 minutes."  Still laughing the man hung up.  Nagi restrained the urge to beat his head against the desk.

**

He was trying to be patient… really he was.  He understood that everyone else in the room was at least a head taller than him.  He understood that they were all at least a decade older than him.  He even understood that with his frail appearing body and fair looks, he wasn't exactly an imposing sight as he stood behind and to one side of Takatori.  He knew he looked out of place in a suit… he hated it with a passion.  As annoying as that school uniform was, at least that looked appropriate on him.  But when he had arrived at Takatori's office… the man had taken one look at him and told him to change.

Once he had done that, they had gone down and climbed into the limo that would carry them to the meeting.  Nagi had sat opposite Takatori and his secretary, trying to ignore the smirks and glances they shot his way.  When they arrived at the meeting, their host had inquired if Nagi was Takatori's son or an intern.  When told he was a bodyguard… outright laughter, which Takatori and his secretary joined in.

It was enough to make Nagi want to throw all of them out the window.  At least once the meeting got going he was ignored, for the most part.  The other man's security seemed to enjoy walking by and knocking into him as if they couldn't see the slender boy.  He couldn't wait for this to be over.

At last the men stood, shaking hands and bowing to close whatever deal they had made.  Assistants and extra hanger-ons filed out, leaving only Takatori, his associate, their closest aides and personal security.  Nagi hoped they would be heading home soon.

"Excellent… Reiji, this calls for a few drinks…"

Nagi sighed… or maybe not.

**

The young man watched his employer and the man's friends with disgust.  He had seen people drunk before… it was nearly a weekly event with Schuldich.  But the German never got this sloppy drunk.  The men were spilling more than was getting to their mouths by this point, and seemed determined that Nagi should join them.  He was trying to convince them that he was on duty and therefore was forbidden to do such things.  But Takatori seemed beyond listening.  Luckily for the boy, the bartender taking care of them brought him something that looked alcoholic, but wasn't and gave the boy a smile and conspiratorial wink.  The men stopped hassling him, Takatori trying his hand at karaoke again.  Nagi winced… even Schu was a better singer… and that wasn't saying much.

At last, they decided to call it a night and staggered off to their respective limos.  Takatori's aide had gone home earlier… so it was just him and the man in the back of the car.  He smiled at Nagi… and hit the button that raised the barrier between them and the driver.  "So… Bradley's shick, eh bouya?"

The young man swallowed.  "Yes, sir."

"Eh… sho polite…you need to looshen up…"  He leaned over and laid a hand on Nagi's knee.  "Yur sho pretty…"

Nagi tried to shift away, a bit alarmed.  He didn't know what Takatori was thinking, and he really didn't want to find out.  He cursed himself for sitting on the same side as the man.  "Please sir…"

"Awe… let'sh have a little fun… it'sh a long way home…"  He ran his hand up the inside of Nagi's leg.

"No… sir… you're drunk…"

"Yup… feelin' pretty good too… but I know what'll feel better…"  He leaned closer, trapping the smaller boy in the corner of the seat.

"Takatori-san…"  The man's hands were wandering over his body, unbuttoning his suit coat and worming in under his clothes.  "Stop… sir…"

"Shuch a pretty boy… I like pretty boysh…"  The drunken man started to kiss the side of his neck, one hand having made its way inside Nagi's pants.  The young man was more than alarmed and trying to decide if he would get in trouble for using his powers.  He squirmed and twisted and managed to slide out around the large man and launch himself across to the other seat.  He quickly fixed his clothes.  Takatori turned and looked at him with blurry, drunken eyes.  "Oooh… you like to play… me too…"

**

Nagi swiped his key card and typed in the code to unlock to door to the apartment.  He was sure the driver had taken the longest and slowest way home possible.  It was a good thing Takatori had been as drunk as he was, the young man had been able to avoid most of his clumsy attempts to molest him.  His suit was rumpled however, Brad would have a fit.  He felt like the man had pawed and groped nearly every inch of him.  The only really scary moment had been when he'd been thrown off balance by an unexpected turn and ended up UNDER Takatori… fortunately the man passed out and Nagi had been able to push him off.  He didn't care what Brad told him to do in the future, he was NEVER guarding Takatori alone again.

He stuck his shoes in the closet and headed for his room.  He needed to get out of the suit, NOW.  As he passed Schu's room the man was already whining and the boy shook his head.  Another night of no sleep...

By four am, everyone seemed to have settled down.  The sick ones were sleeping and Nagi had finished cleaning up.  While he'd been gone, Farf had decided he was well enough to try to eat.  That had been a big mistake and the kitchen and bathroom had been horrible messes by the time he'd returned.  The kitchen because… Farf shouldn't cook unsupervised and the bathroom cause… well… the food hadn't sat well with the Irishman.  Exhausted, Nagi made his way to his room and collapsed across his bed falling instantly to sleep

**.

It couldn't possibly be morning… but sure enough… the sun was streaming in the window and the young man cursed himself for not remembering to close his heavy curtains… Curtains that ensured the evil sun did NOT come in his bedroom windows at the unholy hour of… 7 am...  Okay so 7 was generally the time he got up… but still.  He'd been up horribly late for two nights in a row… he deserved a chance to sleep in a bit.

That thought was ruined by the sound of someone whining in the next room.  He wondered if Schu would like to try flying…

Nagi dragged himself out of bed and into the redhead's room.  "What?"

"Naaaagiii… I'm out of water…"

"Is it actually staying down now?"

"Yeah… so can I have more?"

He reminded himself that the man was sick… that it wouldn't be fair to take advantage of the man's weakened state… and Schu had taken care of him many times in the past.  But that didn't keep Nagi from thinking uncharitable thoughts as he stumbled down the hall to the kitchen.  He filled a glass with water, and grabbed a package of crackers as well.  Schu might want to try something solid… if he gave them to the man now, he wouldn't bug him for them later.  He delivered the items to the German, and then checked in on the others.  Farf didn't want anything; Brad was willing to try some weak tea.

Once he had them settled, Nagi attacked the computer work he was supposed to have done the day before.  It was going a lot slower than it should have simply because he was so tired.  He only stopped to fetch for the others and to grab a quick lunch of rice and instant soup.  He was nearly done… but… he was missing one file.  He went through the pile on Brad's desk again.  It wasn't there.  The only place it could be… was in the man's office on the lower level.

He stepped into the elevator and started down.  Schwarz lived about ten floors from the top, the upper floors being reserved for Takatori's personal penthouse and other family residences; gym and health spa including an onsen and swimming pool; and a couple floors devoted to entertainment, gambling, a banquet hall, party rooms, etc.  Most of the man's personal staff and close aides lived in the building as well, in apartments and suites below Schwarz's level.  They had about a quarter of the floor for their apartment, the rest being taken up by a practice room, for their specialized abilities, and guest suites for visiting Esset personnel.

The floors in the middle of the building mostly housed offices for Takatori's myriad business ventures.  The rest of the building was rented out for additional revenue; however those areas didn't use the same elevators or entrances for security reasons.  The elevator slowed and Nagi stepped out.  It was a business day and the halls were buzzing.  Fortunately, everyone around here had seen him enough that he wasn't questioned or stopped.  He let himself into Brad's office… and there was the file he wanted.  Right on the man's desk.

He waited for the elevator to come back up; when the doors opened… inside was Takatori himself.  Nagi was a bit apprehensive as he stepped into the car, considering what had happened the night before.  But that was when the man had been (to borrow a phrase from Schu) shit-faced drunk.  Hopefully, the man wouldn't even remember the incident in the limo.

"How is Crawford?"

"He's better, Takatori-san."

"Good."  The rest of the trip was made in silence, until the car stopped and Nagi moved to get out.  A hand on his arm held him back.  "Are you busy now, boy?"

"Hai, sir… with a project for you."

"A shame… I had hoped we could continue what we started last night… another time perhaps."

Nagi couldn't get out of that elevator fast enough.  He didn't breath easy until the doors closed and he was inside the apartment with the door locked.  He couldn't believe the nerve of that guy.  Eeeew… what a pervert!  He shuddered.  He needed a shower now.

"Naaaaaaaaaagiiiiiiiiii…"

He sighed.  At least Schu was predictable.

The sick men were getting well enough by evening to actually attempt eating something.  Nagi cooked a simple dinner.  He was actually glad they couldn't handle anything else, he just didn't have enough energy for anything more complicated than 'open and heat'.  They were for the most part able to take care of themselves now, which let the boy try to keep the paperwork from backing up too much.  He settled into Brad's comfortable office chair, and got to work.

**

The next morning, Brad dragged himself out of bed.  He had spent two days there; his skin was crawling with the need for a long HOT shower.  Once cleaned, shaved, and dressed in fresh clothing, he felt nearly human again.  And hungry… ravenously hungry.  Apparently he wasn't the only one, as Schu shuffled out of his room and met him in the hall.  "Food?"  The redhead asked.

"And coffee."

"Oh, definitely coffee."  They looked in Farf's room, but the Irishman was still asleep, curled up around his oversized Powerpuff Girl pillow.  Schuldich shook his head at the sight of the man hugging the pink thing.  "You know… that's really disturbing."  Brad nodded.  They had asked Farf once why he liked the Powerpuff Girls… he said they were created by a man in a lab… God really hated that and besides… they made him laugh.  Sometimes, it was best NOT to question him.

Nagi wasn't in his room when they looked in there.  His bed was already neatly made.  "Making breakfast?"  The German asked his superior.

"Must be… but I don't smell miso or fish."

"Maybe he decided on cereal this morning."

"Possibly."  They walked down the hall, but the kitchen was empty, with no sign that Nagi had even been in that morning.  "Hmmm… that's odd, I thought we would find him here."

Schu frowned.  "Is he working already?"

The American turned and headed for his office.  He paused in the doorway and Schu peeked in around him.  They had found Nagi.  The boy was sitting in Brad's leather desk chair, feet tucked up next to him.  One arm was folded on the desk and serving as a pillow.  The other arm hung loose from the shoulder toward the floor, the fingers lax.  Nagi's face was turned towards them, his lips parted slightly as he slept.

"Awe…"

Brad had to agree with Schu.  The poor kid looked so cute.  "We should put him to bed."

"Yeah… the brat's done enough in the last few days, he deserves a rest."

"Go turn down his blankets."  As the redhead went to do that, Brad carefully picked up the sleeping boy, not wanting to wake him.  He shouldn't have worried, aside from a quiet murmur and curling into the man's chest, Nagi didn't stir much at all.  He carried the boy down the hall and into his room, laying him carefully in his bed.  Schu pulled the covers up to the slender brunette's chin.  Brad pulled the curtains closed, plunging the room into semi-darkness.  "Sleep well, Nagi."

Schu leaned over and ruffled the boy's hair gently.  "Thanks for taking care of us, Brat, get some rest."

The door very quietly closed.

Owari

AN: My muse latched on to this idea and would let me work on anything else *cough Rosenhell cough* till I was finished with this.  Poor Nagi… I mean… having the 'koala' pawing at you… ick.  And the reference to the Powerpuff Girls was inspired by something I read in E-sama's journal, and was put in there to give him and his elder chibi a smile.  Besides… that IS something Farf would like.


End file.
